Microsoft Packs Excel’s August Update With Copilot Features

Microsoft’s August 2026 Excel features are entirely focused on Copilot, bringing new AI tools for workbook history, charts, PivotTables, Python, and chat history.

Unlike some previous Excel updates, Microsoft has not highlighted any major traditional features this month. That means users without Copilot may find relatively little to get excited about.

Copilot can summarize Excel workbook changes

Microsoft detailed the new Excel features for August 2026, with one of the biggest additions being a new change history skill for Copilot.

Copilot can now summarize how a workbook has changed over time. This gives users a faster way to understand recent edits without manually reviewing every modification.

The feature can also help users undo particular changes or return a workbook to an earlier state, which could prove useful when several people collaborate on the same spreadsheet.

Excel makes recent Copilot chats easier to find

Microsoft is also making previous Copilot conversations easier to access from Excel.

Recent chats now appear in order of recency through the menu in the upper-left corner of the Copilot pane. Users can reopen an earlier conversation and continue working from previous prompts instead of starting over.

The change should prove particularly useful for longer spreadsheet projects where users rely on multiple Copilot prompts across different sessions.

Copilot can create charts and PivotTables

Excel is also gaining new @chart-design Chart and PivotTable skills.

Users can ask Copilot to turn complicated spreadsheet data into charts or PivotTables, reducing some of the manual work involved in presenting and analyzing larger datasets.

Microsoft continues to move Copilot beyond simple spreadsheet questions and toward directly performing common Excel tasks.

Python in Excel gets its own Copilot skill

Excel Insiders can also test the new @python-in-excel skill.

Copilot can generate Python formulas directly inside Excel for more advanced analysis. Microsoft says users can continue editing and refreshing those formulas after Copilot creates them.

The feature could make Python in Excel more approachable for users who understand the analysis they want to perform but do not know the exact Python code required.

August’s Excel update is mostly for Copilot users

Microsoft says the announced features span Excel for Windows, Mac, and the web, although availability differs and some capabilities remain limited to Insiders.

Many of the additions also require eligible Microsoft 365 or Copilot licenses. As a result, users who do not use Microsoft’s AI assistant will see few significant changes from the August rollout.

Elsewhere, Microsoft plans to replace Excel’s existing Exchange connector, meaning affected workbook owners will need to migrate their connections manually.

Microsoft is also updating its other productivity apps. PowerPoint SmartArt can now better explain diagram relationships, while Microsoft Teams is strengthening its protection against external meeting bots.